Legacy:The Claiming Of The Crests
by Jay Man1
Summary: After their final battle the digidestined are asked to give up thier powers for the digital world. They refuse and several years later Ken and Davis must gather the crests, by killing thier holders, and save the digital world.
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: The idea for this fic came mostly from the game series Legacy of Kain so I have to acknowledge the inspiration, as well as the fact that I own neither Digimon nor Legacy of Kain nor any of the characters within.  
  
Authors Note: Things to keep in mind about this timeline 1) The battle with Diaboramon never occurred so Taichi and Yamato never achieved Jogress 2) Ken never became the digimon emperor 3) All known digidestined are under the rule of Tai and the other crest bearers 4) Ken does have the crest of kindness however it is not active.5) The digi-egg of kindness did not become the digi-egg of miracles and is with Ken  
  
  
  
It has been three years since Tai and the others first entered the digital world, and Tai now rules it. It wasn't always this way, originally the digidestined acted to save the digital world defeating the dark masters with the powers of the crests. But everything changed after the battle with Apocalylomon. The digidestined had successfully contained the evil digimon's final attack with the powers of their crests, but after all they had done a new task was asked of them. The powers that were sealed in the digital world asked them to give up the powers of their crests to free them. Tai refused preferring to keep the power, and the other digidestined agreed, all but two. T.K. and Kari wanted to restore the original powers to the digital world, and tried to do so on their own; the stress of the action was too much to bear and it destroyed them. In anger Tai and the other digidestined conquered the digital world by first gathering the other digidestined around the globe, and using this army they claimed the world they had once fought to protect. Two years later 4 new digidestined were chosen, Ken, Davis, Yolie, and Cody, they each had the power to armor- digivolve. After seeing their powers Tai made them lieutenants and enforcers in the empire, until the day everything changed.  
  
Tai's empire was powered by a single truth, the digidestined with crests were the only ones who could reach the Ultimate level. No other digidestined could go beyond champion, or so it was thought. Davis and Ken had been friends for only a year but they were as close as brothers if not closer; they were also the strongest of the lieutenants and the most feared enforcers in the entire digital world. The day their fate was sealed was the day they broke the unspoken law of Tai's digital world, they reached the Ultimate level through DNA digivolution, and for this crime they were damned.  
  
The Dark Ocean was discovered by Matt after a particularly severe depression spell, his dark feelings were strong enough to convert a nearby digital gate; the dark world became the sacrificing ground for traitors and criminals, this was where Ken and Davis were banished and left to die, this is where their story begins.  
  
We've been drifting for days now, neither of our digimon have the energy to reach the rookie level, let alone the champion. Is this how the two best enforcers meet their end, drowned in some endless ocean of sorrow? Davis is fighting sleep, even we can only go so long without it, the digimon are weakening I think it might be best to let go. The violet haired boy made one last attempt at staying awake before slipping into unconsciousness and the darkness of oblivion.  
  
" Arise Ken" the violet haired boy sat up and shook his head wondering at the fact that he wasn't dead.  
  
" Where is this?" He asked looking for his friends and the mysterious voice.  
  
" This is my palace in the dark ocean, I am Dagomon" Ken took this in as he searched for his companions, Dagomon answered his unasked question. "Your friends are fine, they will enter shortly, I want all of you present to consider my offer." As the voice spoke Davis entered with Wormon and Veemon they all looked disoriented.  
  
"Where is this place? Why aren't we dead?" Davis asked Ken as he walked to his side.  
  
" This is Dagomon's palace," Ken answered calmly. Davis looked around the room for a moment.  
  
" Why doesn't he show himself? Scared?" Davis shouted to the empty room, everyone else rolled their eyes but froze as their host answered the call.  
  
" Me, fear you? Ha! If you wish to see me so badly child I will oblige." An invisible door opened in the wall the group was facing and out came a large humanoid octopus, one arm ended in tentacles and bore a large trident, this was Dagomon the lord of the Dark Ocean. " Welcome, to my domain," he said as it moved past the group, a large throne materialized out of the floor and Dagomon seated himself.  
  
" What do you want from us?" Davis asked his voice challenging and defiant. Dagomon seamed to smile as he bent down closer to the group.  
  
" I want to offer you a chance for revenge against Tai" Davis looked at Ken who only crossed his arms considering the offer.  
  
" Okay, we're listening." Dagomon smiled again, he knew both boys wanted revenge.  
  
" I need you to kill the other digidestined and take their crests"  
  
"What's in it for you?" Davis asked, his tone suggesting he had not yet agreed.  
  
" The digital world and the real world are part of a balance. The good thoughts and wishes of people accumulate in the digital world, while the Dark Ocean gathers the negative ones. Tai and the others were supposed to give up the powers of their crests in order to restore the four digital guardians and bring back the balance the dark masters destroyed; they refused. By using their powers to control instead of protect they are corrupting the crests, and since they are the strongest force in the digital world if the crests become corrupted, so does the digital world."  
  
" So what?" Davis interrupted, Dagomon looked annoyed. " This still doesn't explain what you get out of balance being restored."  
  
" If you would let me finish. If the digital world becomes corrupted, instead of drawing good thoughts it will draw dark ones, it will become the new dark dimension and mine will cease to exist. To restore balance you must get the crests, and the only way to do that is to take them from the dead bodies of the other digidestined."  
  
" How exactly are we supposed to manage that?" The ever-rational Ken asked his violet eyes appraising the aquatic digimon, " the crest bearers can all reach the ultimate level with the exception of Matt and Tai who can reach Mega, how are we supposed to beat all of them?" Dagomon turned around and touched a spot on the wall, a glowing digiport opened.  
  
" The rest of the answers you seek are through here in the digital oracle, there you will find the help you seek." Dagomon turned to face the two boys and their partners, "that is of course if you choose to accept my offer. Do you?" The two boys looked at each other for a moment before Davis stepped forward heading for the open gateway.  
  
" If this is a trick I will personally come back here and kick your ass" Davis said before motioning for Ken to follow, the two stepped through the doorway with their digimon and were swept to the digital oracle. Once they were gone and the gate closed Dagomon smiled to himself, and exited the throne room.  
  
Authors Notes: Well? What do you think, I don't really know why I decided to do this but I know that I had to get it down. I hope those who read this are kind enough to review and I ask that you forgive my grammar; I am horrible at catching mistakes sometimes. Anyway I hope you enjoy and I might put up other chapters depending on the response. 


	2. Digital Oracle: Fallen Angels

Disclaimer: The idea for this fic came mostly from the game series Legacy of Kain so I have to acknowledge the inspiration, as well as the fact that I own neither Digimon nor Legacy of Kain nor any of the characters within. Also the Phoenix Gate is a creation of disney used in the series Gargoyles.  
  
Authors Note: Things to keep in mind about this timeline 1) The battle with Diaboramon never occurred so Taichi and Yamato never achieved Jogress 2) Ken never became the digimon emperor 3) All known digidestined are under the rule of Tai and the other crest bearers 4) Ken does have the crest of kindness however it is not active.5) The digi-egg of kindness did not become the digi-egg of miracles and is with Ken ________________________________________________________________________  
  
The gate swept the two boys into a dark room. The light from the gate offered them1 a brief view of their surroundings before it closed.  
  
" How are we supposed to find our way around here if we can't see?" As Davis spoke large torches ignited along the walls of the room bathing it in rich orange light. As the boys looked around them they saw that the temple had no doors or entrances that they could see; the room was a large hall, longer than it was wide with high walls forming a curved ceiling. All over the wall there were images and inscriptions, pictures that depicted the four digital Gods as well as the digidestined digimon in their strongest forms. Davis saw that his digimon was there as well also the newly formed Paildramon and some others he didn't recognize. Various battles were depicted, most were from the war with the Dark masters and their servants. He saw MetalGarurumon squaring off against Puppetmon, he also saw the battle that WarGreymon had won against Metalseadramon. Those battles had given Tai and the others the power needed to rule the world they had sought to save; the irony was not lost on Davis. Two of the pictures were odd however; several times winged figures appeared. Davis saw that there were three distinct figures, one appeared in the battle against Devimon and another appeared in the battle against Myotismon, the last one seemed to be the evolved form of one of the other two and it was facing Piedmon.  
  
" Whoa! I remember Tai talking about tat last battle, he said that Wargreymon had fought alone until Metalgarururmon came but even then they almost lost."  
  
" Did he say how they won Davis?" V-mon asked his partner.  
  
" No, when I asked he got really defensive and told me it was 'none of my concern'" Davis replied not taking his eyes off of the wall. " Ken, what do you make of all this?" Ken however did not reply, his eyes had never left the sight at the end of the large hall, it was a pyre burning with a huge flame, a huge black flame. It was the digital oracle, corrupted to its core by the actions of the digidestined and their power hungry leader. It was a symbol of everything that was wrong in both the digital and real worlds and the oddest thing about it was that there were people inside of it, two of them.  
  
"Davis, look" Ken directed the gaze of his cinnamon haired companion toward the black flame then he motioned for the boy to follow him as they went to investigate. " Wormmon, V-mon, keep your guards up we don't know what those things are, they might be dangerous." As they approached the two figures became clearer, one was a girl with red eyes and brown hair, she appeared to be about eight years old and there was a whistle around her neck. The other was a boy who was also around eight years old, he resembled Matt, Tai's second in command, and he was dressed in green from head to toe including a bright green hat that resembled a helmet. Both children were sitting and speaking to each other completely unaware of the approaching boys, it was the girl who noticed them first.  
  
" TK look, we have guests" The boy looked up as she addressed Davis and Ken, " I can't remember the last time we had guests." Her companion looked both boys over and his crystal blue eyes narrowed as they saw the goggles on Davis' head; they were exact duplicates of Tai's and they bore the emblem of courage to show Davis' rank.  
  
" Kari, look at the mark he works for that coward you once called brother," TK's voice was scathing and bore with its tone a hatred so strong it was almost palpable. Kari looked at the goggles and her eyes became hard and cold, they seemed out of place on the small girl's face.  
  
" You're right," she spat all the kindness gone from her voice. "What do you want here? I don't suppose my brother has recovered his senses, if he had he would have come in person instead of sending one of his pathetic lapdogs." A bitter laugh escaped the throat of the small child as she glared at the two boys, it was Davis who first spoke up.  
  
" I am not Tai's lapdog you little brat, he tried to kill me out of jealousy and his empire is killing both worlds. My friend and I want him dead more than anything and we were told you could help us." Davis turned his head with a self-confident jerk, " but I fail to see how a pair preschool poltergeists could help us against the strongest of the digidestined." He regretted his words instantly as the entire chamber came to life, the flames reached to the ceiling and the two children were gone, replaced by towering angels horrifying in their brilliance and fury. The two beings had ten wings that shone in a rainbow of colors, their hair grew down to their backs and their eyes burned with their anger. They each had donned robes of blinding white and they spoke with the sound of a thousand crashing waves. The female angel spoke first her voice crushing the boys remaining courage.  
  
" Ignorant boy! Tai was never the strongest. We were! We alone could face the foes that left his digimon broken in the dust. He betrayed us when we actually had need of him, and left me, his own sister, to die while trying to bear the burden he was too weak to take up. If you truly wish to defeat my brother you will need our help, or you will fail." The being's voice caused the very walls to shake and tremble.  
  
" Tai holds great power as does my own brother." The second angel said, his voice just as loud but with less malice than angel/Kari's had carried. " However, the bulk of our strength came from the group as a whole; we always won because we fought together. Now, the original group has scattered, no longer able to stand each others company, they rule there separate areas of the digital world alone. You could overcome them, with our help, one by one. Are you prepared to wage war on those you once served?"  
  
Davis and Ken were both dumbstruck at the awesome display of power, but the young goggle head was the first to speak up.  
  
" Tai betrayed both of us and he is crushing both worlds, I will give my life to stop him."  
  
" Me too," V-mon said, speaking for the first time.  
  
" That goes for both of us" Ken said speaking for his partner. As he finished speaking both of the angels became children again as the room returned to it's former appearance.  
  
TK spoke this time, his tone was soothing and calm, "You must excuse us, we have had far too much time to sit here and brood, and our tempers are a bit short on the subject of our past.  
  
We will help you on your journey; however if we are to help we will need your digieggs. "  
  
" What for?" Davis found his voice again, "How do we know you're not gonna use them against us or something?"  
  
"I think we can trust them Davis," Ken, said calmly as he pulled out his D-Terminal. "Besides what choice do we have? I'm sure they could take them if they really wanted."  
  
"Actually we are unable to manipulate physical matter outside of this chamber," Kari informed the indigo haired boy as he placed the flower shaped egg of kindness on the floor. Davis soon followed suite bringing out both of his digi-eggs and setting them down. Soon the digi-eggs of Courage, Friendship, and Kindness, were laid before the altar. Kari said something inaudible to TK and as if on cue the eggs started to glow. The light quickly became unbearable as it engulfed the entire room. Davis placed his goggles over his eyes and even then he had keep his eyes closed to the glare. ' the lenses on my goggles are supposed to be polarized how can the light be so bright?' Davis thought as the light slowly retreated and his sight slowly returned.  
  
When Davis was able to see again he was once again dumbstruck as he stared at the four figures where the eggs once were. Now instead of two eight-year- old children, there were two kids his age, one was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen, the other was a boy who resembled Matt. At their feet were two digimon, a Patamon and a Gatomon. It seemed that the children of hope and light were once again part of the world of the living.  
  
The girl was wearing yellow jeans, and a pink blouse with a yellow jean vest over it. The whistle that had been around her neck was replaced with a crystal eight pointed star attached to a silver chain. The boy was in dark green pants and a black shirt with black boots. Instead of the helmet he now had a headband the same color as his pants, his hair seemed longer and he was now the tallest one in the room. Davis was staring at the girl with his jaw hanging, he finally composed himself enough to speak.  
  
" K-K-Ka-Kari? '" He laboriously stammered out, " Is that you? I mean you look great, for a dead girl. How did you bring yourself back to life?" Davis asked, his eyes never leaving the girl.  
  
" We're not alive Davis," Kari said calmly as she tried not to be unsettled by his attentions. " We used the power of the eggs to give ourselves a temporary physical form. This takes a lot of energy however, and we will have to be in a spiritual form outside of this temple unless we are needed to fight."  
  
" Damn it." Tk swore as the other three turned to look at him." I just realized, we won't be able to get our digimon to ultimate like this, it would take more energy than we could possibly summon to power an Ultimate and hold physical shape."  
  
Kari bit her lip, " well what do you suggest we do? Both of are fairly strong as champions but we can't hope to beat Tai without the Ultimate level. We need a stronger power source, maybe we should look for one before facing any of the others"  
  
"No," it was Davis who spoke up now. " If Tai realizes we're still alive then he'll have all of the others on guard, we'll go after Mimi first she's the weakest so you shouldn't need your Ultimate forms."  
  
"But what good will that do?" Ken questioned his companion. Ken was the more intelligent of the two but Tai had personally trained Davis in tactical planning, Ken had essentially been an assassin and wasn't as quick at formulating plans. Davis gave him an "it's so simple" look as he explained. " If we get Mimi first than we will have two crests hers and yours, with two of them we can enter the old citadel." He turned toward Tk and Kari, " The old citadel can only be entered by using two crests, Tai never trusted any of the others in there alone, there is supposed to be a strong power source inside. If we can get in may be we can get it." The others nodded in approval, Kari gave Davis a sweet smile.  
  
" Well my brother isn't completely useless," she said walking over to Davis she gave him a small peck on the cheek. " He taught you well." As Davis seemed to float in a mild euphoria Kari picked up Gatomon and faced the group. " It seems that we are heading to Mimi's 'Garden of Illusions ' let's get going, everyone join hands." They formed a circle Davis making sure to be on one side of Kari, the brunette then closed her eyes and spoke loudly. " Des le Gratis Muri Tempe et Inter Valnia" In a burst of light they found themselves in the daylight on a large hill.  
  
"What was that?" Ken asked, startled by the sudden change in scenery.  
  
" That was the phoenix gate, it was once a magical artifact that could transport one to any place or time, the item was lost in the time stream. Now its spell can only access places where there is a high temporal resonance. Mimi's palace lies to the east, we have about a two day walk so I suggest we get started" __________________________________________________________________  
  
A/N: Well chapter two was short and sweet, now I have to figure out how to develop Kari and TK's characters. (I realize that they are very OOC but I didn't think they would keep their innocence after being abandoned by their most trusted loved ones). Kari and Tk have essentially been a part of the Digital Oracle and therefore have been using its powers to monitor some of the events in the digital world. If anyone at all reads this I hope you will R&R. Next Time: The new team goes after the "Mistress of the Forest" Mimi but first they must fight their way through the cursed woods surrounding her fortress. They are going to have to work for the crest of Sincerity, but are they ready to face off against a more experienced digidestined? 


	3. Forest of Shadows: Shades of the Past

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon or Soul Reaver in any way shape or form so don't get upset. The previous chapters have the things you should know so don't ask me about them again.  
  
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"Ugh! I had forgotten how slow walking was," Kari said exasperatingly as she moved across the digital landscape. TK was a few paces behind her with Ken and Davis, the latter two boys had been having some trouble keeping up.  
  
" What's with you two?" Davis gasped, " don't you two ever get tired?"  
  
"No," TK and Kari replied simultaneously as they continued walking. They had been walking for almost two days strait and despite their training Ken and Davis lacked the unnatural stamina of the other less alive digidestined. It had been agreed that the digimon would conserve their energy for battle. Mimi's domain was less that two miles away now and the landscape slowly changed from grassland to forest as they walked. The digimon were being carried so they could conserve their energies and not slow down the group. They had not seen any of other digimon as of yet.  
  
" Where are all of the Digimon?" Patamon asked causing everyone to turn to him.  
  
"What? It was an honest question."  
  
" Well this is the first you've spoken since being reformatted," Ken said simply. "I was starting to doubt the state of your mind myself."  
  
" Patamon is fine," TK said curtly, " he couldn't reformat because I was dead, a little shock is to be expected after three years of non- existence. It's like a computer that has been offline for a really long time; it takes a little while to get back up to speed. There are no digimon because Mimi's minions have cleared the area of all resources and intruders, all who are not dead won't come here." Patamon nodded at the response and went on riding TK's head in silence. Soon they found themselves at the threshold of /the woods that marked Mimi's territory. Gigantic sequoias lined the perimeter making an organic barricade. Almost all light was blocked out within the trees and the shadows had an ominous presence.  
  
" This was once a glorious Eden filled with all types of flowers and fruit," Kari said her voice devoid of all emotion. " However the gravity of what she had become soon drove Mimi mad and her paradise has become a place of shadows and insanity. We should be careful, she has many servants." Kari promptly walked into the tree with Gatomon in tow her tail ring glinting in the gloom. TK and the other were quick to follow as to not be left behind in the woods, as they walked on glowing eyes watched menacingly from the shadows.  
  
Kari was the only one who seemed to know where she was going and the boys kept up as best they could as she trouped through knee high shrubbery. The inner forest was made up of smaller trees and thick brambles that cut and clawed at every step. The canopy kept everything in perpetual twilight, creatures rustled in the leaves but no birds sang. There were still no digimon for quite some time, occasionally a Chumon would see them and scurry into the underbrush, but there were no guards. The first sign of resistance came when they came to a large clearing covered in emerald green clovers, a large bolder was half buried in the Earth and the canopy temporarily ended, letting the sun in.  
  
" Can we rest for a little while? Some of us actually have limits," Davis said gasping for air, in fact everyone save for TK and Kari was exhausted.  
  
" Well." Kari said considering the offer, " I guess we could take a five minute break" the group promptly collapsed from exhaustion. TK and Kari looked at each other for a moment before shrugging and examining their surroundings, TK started walking around the perimeter while Kari simply wandered. Davis was napping on his back and started snoring, Ken promptly elbowed him in the ribs to make him turn over. Kari had moved to the far side of the boulder and giggled to herself as she saw the group.  
  
Davis, now on his side, was resting on Ken's stomach, V-mon and Wormmon were curled into a blue and green ball with Gatomon curled up in the center and Patamon perched on top. Her smile quickly dissipated as she saw something written on the far side of the stone. As Kari bent to check the writing TK sensed something moving in the shadows, darting his eyes quickly across the area he had started to hone in on what had moved when a gasp from Kari grabbed his attention.  
  
Kari stared at the words written in unchanging stone. "Here Lies Pixiemon A Great Warrior Who Could Not Change His Fate And Neither Can You Prepare to Die Trespasser "  
  
She quickly looked around the clearing for any sign of an attack, she saw something moving near TK, but he was facing her. " TK LOOK OUT!" She shouted alerting everyone in the clearing as TK jumped to avoid a pair of branch like arms that reached for him.  
  
" Trespassers," several voices called from the shadows, " you will share his grave." About a half dozen Woodmon and Veggiemon appeared out of the shadows and surrounded the group. " Our orders are clear, all that come to this clearing must never leave it" One of the Woodmon stated as he took a step forward. TK grasped his new D-3 but Davis stopped his hand.  
  
" Let us handle this," he said with a smirk, " digi-armor."  
  
" We can't use our armor forms anymore remember?" Ken said with a sigh, " Let's do this the old fashioned way. Digivolve! "  
  
" Wormmon digivolve to. Stingmon!" Wormmon became a large green humanoid insect with vicious looking claws.  
  
" V-mon digivolve to.XV-mon!" V-mon became a humanoid dragon with large white wings and a gray X on his chest. " Bring it on!" XV-mon shouted as he charged a group of Woodmon. " XV-Punch!" The blue Dragon called out his attack as it plowed through the wooden champions, his insectoid counterpart was similarly wreaking havoc with his Striking Finish. TK watched with silent appraisal as the forces were quickly stomped out; Kari, however, had not taken her eyes off of the tombstone. The sounds of battle quickly died down as the weaker champions were deleted one by one, TK turned from the battle and walked over to Kari, whose eyes were filling with tears.  
  
" Kari what's." he froze as he read the tombstone over her shoulder, his gaze once again hardened. " How could they?" he said in a whisper, " after all of his help how could they?" two tears made their way down the boys cheeks before he forced them to stop.  
  
" Who was Pixiemon?" Davis asked, the battle had ended and he and Ken had both walked up to the stone.  
  
" He was a digimon, an ultimate, he trained us in the digital world and later he protected us from the Dark Masters when we first came back to the digital world. They killed him the first time, but he should have been reconfigured." Kari said with a slightly wavering voice.  
  
" But digimon don't die, why would anyone put up a grave at all?" Ken asked running a hand along the words.  
  
"There are some ways to prevent a digimon's rebirth, you can create a barrier like we tried to do, you can kill it's partner at the same time, or you can destroy it's egg while it's in primary village." TK spoke this time, his voice was cold, " There isn't a barrier, and Pixiemon didn't have a partner, so his egg must be buried here. I don't know why it was done but we'll make Mimi give us an answer."  
  
"How can you not know?" Davis asked, his eyes full of confusion, " I thought you were part of the oracle, able to see what went on in the digital world."  
  
" That was true at first, but Tai's corruption soon blocked the oracles powers making us blind to the outside world." Kari turned her head back toward Mimi's castle, " it's not that much further, we should get going." The child of light began walking into the woods without looking to see if the others would follow, Gatomon walked wordlessly behind her as she headed into the gloom.  
  
" What happened to resting?" Davis sighed as he started off after Kari with the others right behind, TK was the last to leave after offering a one last glance at the resting-place of a friend. They continued on without anymore sign of resistance though they all felt a sense of unease. Beyond their sight a pair of yellow eyes glowed with a savage intelligence, it moved quickly through the trees as it followed the children's progress. ________________________________________________________________________  
  
Kari finally consented to rest after night fell they set up camp in a small thicket surrounded by thick dry bushes. Davis tried to set up a watch but Kari said no.  
  
" We need to replenish our energies for the fight ahead, we will rest in the spiritual realm for the night and stand guard over the both of you." The jogress partners gave her puzzled looks so she elaborated, " Fighting, even with our digimon at the champion level, is going to take a lot of power in the realm of the spirits the two of us can hunt shades and lost souls for energy. When we have enough we will return to this realm."  
  
" If you're leaving how do you plan to watch us?" Davis asked with a large yawn.  
  
" The spiritual realm is a shadow of this one, we won't be able to see your bodies but we can see your souls and protect them from others. Don't worry we'll be able to sense an enemy before it knows we're here." Davis had already fallen asleep and had therefore missed the last part Ken mumbled thanks before drifting off himself. Kari shook her head and turned to her companion, "You go I'll watch around here for now, but please go out a little ways; I don't want you to eat a friend." Tk nodded before fading from sight completely, and leaving Kari alone with her thoughts. The creature with the yellow eyes saw the boy vanish and fled back to its master before the spirit could sense him. Upon its arrival a figure in black turned to greet the large creature.  
  
" What's wrong? You're back early."  
  
"Ghost.boy" the creature replied in a growl, "Boy.vanish. feed. souls."  
  
" A wraith?" The figure's voice grew concerned, "I'm not sure we can handle this." Suddenly a vine sprung up from the ground, four flowers burst from it, green, violet, pink, and orange, the flowers then wilted and fell to the earth. " Yes my lady," the figure said, seeming to speak to the woods themselves. He turned back to the creature and his tone was hard, " You heard the lady's orders, follow them and we'll join you at dawn. You do know what happens then?"  
  
The creature seemed to smile, " Destroy," it said softly as it returned to the canopy, once again one with the shadows. ____________________________________________________________________  
  
The boys woke at dawn to the sight of a small fire and a steaming pot, TK was stirring gently and Kari was nowhere to be seen. It was still cold out and Davis shivered and grumbled as Ken got up to examine the pot.  
  
" Where'd this come from?" Ken asked sleepily.  
  
" It's a kind of tea made from some herbs around here, it should give you some energy for today,"  
  
" I was talking about the pot," Ken replied, eyeing the blond warily, " We didn't bring anything with us."  
  
The blond was unperturbed, " it's the digital world, I found it on the ground nearby and I washed it out in a stream, there's some cups over there if you're interested." Ken accepted the explanation and the invitation as he grabbed one of the thick mugs and grabbed himself a cup of the brew. The mixture was a reddish brown and had bits of leaves floating in it, he eyed it warily and took a sip; the effect was amazing, it was like his entire body was filled with warmth and energy, it faded after a moment causing Ken to return to his cup. Unable to stay warm on his own Davis got to his feet groggily and grabbed a cup before asking what it was, his eyes shot open after his first gulp however and he was soon enjoying it beside Ken. Kari faded into existence behind the two boys looking quite refreshed, noticing them sitting around the fire she sat with them enjoying the warmth. Their bonding moment didn't last, however as V-mon let out a loud yelp, waking the other digimon and causing their partners to jump.  
  
" What is it?" Davis asked grumpily, he had nearly spilt his drink in his lap and Kari had been sitting next to him. " This had better be good."  
  
" There was something watching us, it had yellow eyes, I saw it in the trees," the small dragon insisted. Kari walked to where he was pointing and looked around, then she vanished again for a few moments before rematerializing on the other side of the thicket.  
  
" There was something here," she stated, her eyes still searching, " but it got away too fast, whatever it is it's in it's element." She paused for a moment, still thinking, " nothing to do now but keep moving."  
  
They walked on in silence constantly looking over their shoulders until the wood parted and Mimi's fortress stood before them. It was shaped like a rose and seemed to sparkle in the sunlight. The structure was made of rose quartz and surrounded by a massive wall of vines and thorns. The massive flora was woven into a barrier more than fifty feet high, the vines were green and moving like a giant mass of snakes. The gate was made of thick stone and had four hollow slots carved into it. To the left and right of the gates stood statues of a lion and a monster, there was an inscription on the door. "Those who seek the Garden Queen Should head home in disgrace Better that than suffer The trials one must face Both the Hunters you must defeat They test if thou art strong Then the guardians will test If thy quest is wrong Only then shall the gate open Like a flower soon to bloom Then ye shall find the Garden Queen And this Tower shall be your tomb"  
  
"The Hunter's and the Guardian's?" Davis said quizzically, " well, if what we've faced so far is any indication this should be a piece of cake."  
  
" Somehow I doubt that," A voice said from behind them, all turned to face a boy dressed in black from head to toe his hair was a paler blond than TK's and his eyes were blue as well. There was a digivice at his hip and a small green and white digimon, with small horns and large ears, at his feet. " We are the hunters and we're here to ensure you go no further." Davis looked at the digimon at his feet and snickered, "What's so funny?"  
  
"If you think you're going to beat me, with a little bunny you've gone off the deep end." The boy shot him a death glare before grabbing his digivice.  
  
" No one insults me, not even Tai's little prodigy, Terriermon digivolve!"  
  
" Terriermon digivolve to.Gargomon!" The little green "bunny" was now about four feet tall with blue jeans and a menacing pair of gun arms. The boy smiled and shouted to Davis.  
  
"Check your analyzer goggle boy." Davis growled and checked the screen  
  
" Gargomon champion level, referred to as the 'gun bunny' his Gargo Laser and Bunny Pummel will leave opponents seeing stars."  
  
" So you got a bigger bunny? I'll show you a real champion, do it V- mon!"  
  
" V-mon digivolve to. XV-mon!" The blue dragon faced the smaller champion with a steely gaze. XV-mon leapt into the air crossing his arms as he charged an attack " V-laser!" he shouted as the bolt of energy flew toward the bunny that quickly countered.  
  
" Gargo Laser!" the two attacks met in the air and canceled one another out. The battle was far from over as the digimon traded blows. As the battle waged on Ken digivolved Wormmon and waited for an opening; XV- mon saw his other partner on the sidelines and quickly let loose with another "V-Laser" forcing Gargomon to dodge and leave his midsection open. Stingmon didn't waste an instant as he charged in with his blade drawn.  
  
"Spiking." Stingmon was unable to finish the attack, for as soon as he got within range of the opponent another threat showed itself with a massive force.  
  
" Cable Crusher!" A large paw flew from the trees and slammed Stingmon into the ground, the creature with the yellow eyes emerged into the daylight. It was large like a bear and had large spikes growing out of it's head and back, it's head, which was small compared to the rest of it, was topped with a small metal helmet. It retracted itbs large paw and took an aggressive stance in front of the boy in black.  
  
" This is Endigomon, my other digimon and Terriermon's twin brother, my name is Willis, and it's time for you to die." Willis did a small bow and snapped his fingers, Endigomon turned around and extended its torso as gun barrels came from its back, Gargomon raised his guns.  
  
" Koko Crusher!"  
  
" Gargo Laser!" The attacks pelted the two champions for a few moments before both took to the air and the remaining projectiles struck the two statues. Diving in, the Jogress digimon went on the offensive and forced twins into a physical fight. As they battled, the damaged statues began to crumble light poured from the cracks and two figures emerged.  
  
"Ha!" Willis shouted in triumph, " You are truly doomed now, the Guardians have awakened, Leomon, Ogremon, help me destroy them!" The two digimon shook the last bits of stone from themselves and faced the children of hope and light.  
  
" Well it looks like we finally get some action," Gatomon said speaking for the first time, her tail ring glinting in the sun.  
  
" Finally! I was getting bored watching the others get all of the fun." Patamon agreed as he began to glow. "Patamon digivolve to.Angemon!" The six-winged angel was dressed in white and blue, a helmet covered his eyes and he held a golden staff in his hands. " I don't know why you've decided to fight with evil once again Ogremon, but you are a threat to TK so I must defeat you."  
  
" Fellow felines shouldn't fight, but I have a job to do Leomon" Gatomon said as she brandished her claws. Both of the Digimon faced the Guardians with resolve, and the second half of the battle began. _____________________________________________________________________  
  
Well Kari and TK have finally joined the fray and it seems like their digimon are back to normal, but will they be able to take on the powerful champions they now face? And what about Gatomon's tail ring? will it interfere with the Jogress?  
  
Next Time: Face Off: Mimi the Mad Lady of the Lilies The group enters the fortress of Mimi and they quickly find themselves facing the "Stem Fatale" digimon of Mimi, Lilymon. Lilymon has them beat in experience and half way through the battle they discover a deadly handicap, what will happen to our heroes as they seek the fallen crest of Sincerity.  
  
A/N: I know I use Japanese terms and names sometimes and American ones other times but that is just a matter of preference please review. 


	4. Queen of the Garden: The fall of Sinceri...

Disclaimer: Digimon and Soul Reaver are not my property and I hold no right to them what so ever. I don't own I merely borrow thank you. ______________________________________________________________________  
  
The former lords of File Island stood silently facing their former allies, both of their eyes were blank and soulless as if they weren't alive at all. Angemon and Gatomon readied themselves for the battle, the past no longer mattered; only the future of both worlds was important. As they stared each other down it was Leomon who spoke first, his gruff voice completely devoid of emotion.  
  
" We guard this castle from all who would seek to harm the Lady, if you wish entry you must prove your strength against us." The lion shifted to battle stance and Ogremon did the same, "We will test your determination. Ha!" The mighty champion leapt at the smaller Gatomon while Angemon charged Ogremon. The smaller cat type digimon was easily keeping out of the lion's reach but was having trouble getting around his blade to attack.  
  
" Lightning Claw!" She cried, but her claws were deflected by Leomon' s sword and he quickly countered with his Fist of the beast King. Neither of the digimon could land a solid hit and their feline agility made the bout seem like a sort of deadly dance. Meanwhile Angemon was having some difficulty with the Viral champion, Angemon's attacks would have made short work of the ogre if they hit him strait on. Ogremon was a far more experienced warrior and was doing a flawless job of deflecting the angel's attacks.  
  
Davis was getting annoyed, Willis' overgrown bunny was managing to keep XV-mon from gaining the upper hand or helping Stingmon. Stingmon was having a tougher time since he didn't have a long-range attack; Endigomon was keeping his distance and wearing down the insect warrior.  
  
" Ken I think we need to up the ante a bit," Davis shouted over the noise, Ken nodded and they held out their D-3's. " Digivolve!"  
  
" XV-mon!"  
  
"Stingmon"  
  
" DNA digivolve to." at the two digimon came together Kari thought she saw Gatomon's tail ring start to shine, suddenly the other two champions were thrown apart the fusion had failed.  
  
" What the hell?" Davis shouted, as the two digimon quickly recovered, "Why didn't it.Look Out!" Both of the champions turned to see Willis' digimon barreling down on them ready for the kill. They quickly countered on the Digimon closest to them, which caused Gargomon to end up impaled through the belly by Stingmon's blade and Endigomon was stuck in the chest by a V-laser. As the two hunters staggered back and begun to delete Kari came up with a plan.  
  
" Angemon, Gatomon switch opponents," the two digimon quickly responded and did as the girl asked. Angemon charged his angel staff and went after Leomon while Gatomon used her Lightning Claw on Ogremon. The plan worked perfectly as the felines claws shredded Ogremon's bone club and Leomon's blade shattered on contact with Angemon's staff. Without their weapons the two guardians were no match for their opponents, but they still fought on.  
  
" Pummel Whack!"  
  
"Fist of the Beast King!"  
  
"Hand of Fate!"  
  
"Lightning Claw!" The latter attacks plowed through the former deleting the guardians on contact with holy power. After they had died the four depressions in the door were filled with colored glass orbs, yet the door still didn't open.  
  
" What's wrong?" Ken asked his normally calm face puzzled, " the door should have opened once we beat all of those who protected it." The young bluenette furrowed his brow in concentration for a moment before seeing Willis sneak away out of the corner of his eye, " Of course! We have to get Willis as well; he's the last of the Hunter's." Turning quickly the group saw the blond run toward the trees, as they started to go after him a white blur moved by his face and he stopped. Willis brought his hands up to his throat and dropped to his knees, the blur stopped behind him and revealed itself to be Gatomon; she had slit Willis' throat and as he breathed his last the door to the fortress opened and allowed the group entry.  
  
" Let's get this over with," Kari said without the least bit of remorse as she turned to enter the stronghold. As she walked Gatomon and TK fell in behind her; Davis looked at Ken who shrugged and went to join the others, Davis followed suit not risking a backward glance at the corpse of Willis. The gates shut behind them as they headed for the inner sanctum of the Garden Queen. ________________________________________________________________________  
  
It was more than an hour later before they reached what they assumed to be Mimi's room, there were other digimon in the castle but they were all Gekomon and Otamamon, they were too afraid to fight. The defeat of the outer guardians had effectively removed the threat of opposition from the castle servants and all of the digimon were glad for it. The distance between the outer door and Mimi's sanctum wasn't that great, but the castle was built like a maze and the digimon inside weren't offering help. The problem that had occurred during the last battle had been effectively avoided for the time being as they concentrated on navigating the maze of corridors inside Mimi's fortress. When they reached the large ornate door that sealed off Mimi's room they paused.  
  
" Guy's what happens if our digivolution messes up like last time?" Davis whispered his voice showing his concern, " Mimi may be on the low rung of the power ladder but she still has an ultimate. I don't think we can beat her if we don't have one as well." The others turned to face him and TK seemed to ponder the question for a moment.  
  
" Well we'll have to try it out inside and hope we can figure out what's going wrong. Then we can hopefully fix it and end the match." The blond boy then proceeded to push the door open and walk in. The others followed suit and were quickly halted by the sight of the room. It seemed to have been luxurious once, but it had long since descended into ruin and decay. Vines and creepers roamed all over the walls and the furniture seemed far older than its design showed it to be. In the center of the room was Mimi, her long brown hair was disheveled and full of dried twigs and leaves. Her dress had once been white, but it was now shredded and beyond dirty, but that what was left of her humanity. Her arms and legs were replaced with thick vines that spread throughout the room, her eyes were a deep green and lacked pupils. She turned her head to face the group as she heard their gasps of shock.  
  
" What is the matter? Am I so changed?" Kari was the first to find her voice.  
  
" Mimi? What happened? Tell me what did this to you? " The being that was the holder of sincerity seemed shocked at the girls voice, she stared at the girl for a moment before speaking.  
  
" Kari! How have you returned? It does not matter, if you have come back than you have come to take my life and those of the others." She seemed to sigh and drop her head, " look only on what has come of our quest for power. I wanted a garden paradise and I got a living tomb; I wish you hadn't killed Willis, he was only following orders." She sighed again, " you know I cannot let you leave here alive."  
  
" I was going to say the same thing Mimi. You turned your back on us just as the others did, our work must be finished " The child of light advanced on Mimi but was stopped by a plant woman. The woman had a large flower on her head and had vines for hair, her skin was green and fair, on her back was a pair of green wings. Lilymon had always been Mimi's most powerful defender in and out of battle, quick and deadly her powers could not be denied.  
  
" You know I can't let you do that Kari, you're going to have to go through me first. I don't care what happened in the past but right now Mimi is my only law. " The flower pixie took a step back and readied herself, " I don't know how you eluded death but I'll make sure he knows right were to find you this time." Leaping into the air the pixie readied herself for battle as her opponents did the same.  
  
"Guy's we can't afford to play around this time, let's go strait to ultimate." Davis said as he pulled out his D-3.  
  
"XV-mon"  
  
" Stingmon"  
  
"DNA-digivolve to." As before the energized champions came together and were thrown apart by a bright light, again Kari saw Gatomon's ring shine out of the corner of her eye yet she still didn't make a connection. The others stared at their partners in confusion.  
  
" What's wrong you guys?" Davis questioned frantically, " We need you to so this so lets try it again." Once again the jogress was tried and it failed once again, this time Kari saw the tail ring shine and was starting to connect the occurrences. " Looks like we're going to have to overwhelm her, everyone attack at once!" Davis and Ken's partners quickly complied but Mimi who had trapped them with her vines prevented TK and Kari from helping. She had moved silently as the group had watched the failed digivolution, the vines were wrapped tightly preventing almost all motion.  
  
" Oh no you don't, even Lilymon can't take on four champions of your strength, you'll just have to be satisfied with me." The vines curled to make a living wall around them and started to contract. TK saw the vines had ensnared Angemon and prevented his escape, Gatomon's claws were keeping her relatively safe but Kari seemed to be in a world of her own. Her mind was racing as she tried to remember all of the powers that a Gatomon's ring was said to have. It suddenly occurred to her that it was increasing not only Gatomon's power but that of all their allies, but that same power wouldn't support two in one being (A/N: this is completely made up but I needed a decent reason). Kari snapped out of her thoughts and shouted to her partner.  
  
" Gatomon you've got to take off your tail ring, that's why they can't link, " The small feline heard and had begun to comply when she was caught unawares by the vines around her.  
  
" Well if the ring has to come off so they can win I think we'll just leave it on" Mimi laughed as she started to constrict the group within the vines. As they struggled with the violent shrubbery Ken and Davis were watching their partners get beaten into the ground, hard. Lilymon was small and fast but she was by no means lacking in strength. Davis flinched as a petite foot crashed into his dragon's chest, Stingmon tried to fly from behind but was grounded by a punch to the gut. It was clear who was in control here Lilymon had not even used her flower cannon attack, in fact she hadn't so much as gotten winded. Davis and Ken watched helplessly as the beating continued.  
  
Davis nearly in tears over his frustration, "We have to stop this," Davis ran toward the wall of vines and started to claw his way through. He had heard Kari's shout and was ready to rip the tail off of the cat if that is what it took to save his partner. At the same time Gatomon was putting all of her strength into freeing herself. She managed to create a temporary hole in the cover and thrust her tail into the hole, the vines wrapped around and she retracted her tail leaving her ring behind Davis grabbed it and began to pull himself from the plants. The digimon felt two effects, one was that their power seemed to drop somewhat, the other was that they're former bond was stronger than before. Davis pulled himself from the vines his right hand clenched on the ring and his confidence returned.  
  
" I can feel it Ken! We can do it this time." He readied his D-3 and watched as the champions once again attempted to join; this time they met with more success.  
  
" DNA digivolve to. Paildramon!" Davis felt Ken's heartbeat and smiled, as their digimon stood strong once again.  
  
" Next round! Let's do this right." The armored dragon brandished its claws and readied the guns at its side. "Time to weed the garden!" Charging forward the dragon extended a glowing saber and swiped at the pixie.  
  
" You may be strong," she called as she dodged out of the way, " but you're still way too slow. Flower Cannon!" The ultimate unleashed her attack striking the other ultimate in the chest and sending him into a wall. Meanwhile the altered Mimi was still trying to crush the children of hope and light.  
  
" Crap I can't move," Kari sighed as the vines tightened to prevent them from aiding their friends, she looked over to TK who seemed to be thinking of something.  
  
" Kari!" he shouted suddenly, " we've been so stupid, she can't hold us in the ethereal realm,"  
  
" Yes she can, her crest would allow her to follow us,"  
  
" Maybe so but if she did she would let the digimon free, she has to let one of us go." Kari nodded at his logic and both faded from view as they slipped into the realm of souls. Mimi was unable to decide if she feared the children or their partners more in time and before she could react the two children had reappeared behind her. " This ends now Mimi," TK whispered in her ear. The Garden queen seemed to nod as she realized what was to happen. Lilymon saw her partner was in peril and tried to fly to save her, however before should close the small distance she was struck head on by Paildramon's 'desperado blaster' attack. Having been hit full on by the assault Lilymon was thrown to the ground where she was finished off by a 'Sting Strike'. As her partner deleted Mimi's life was ended by TK who snapped her neck. As she died Kari seemed to draw a light from her chest, when Mimi breathed her last the reformed crest of Sincerity was in Kari's hand. Closing her hand over the crest Kari and the others watched as the vines withered and disintegrated, the building started to crumble and they ran.  
  
Fleeing through the collapsing halls they reached the outer doors much faster; they made it outside in time to see a pillar of light burst from the roof of Mimi's stronghold. The light released a wave of energy that flew over their heads and obliterated the canopy, returning sunlight to the woods. They watched as the light faded and Mimi's former stronghold collapsed into the earth like a wilting rose. The group didn't speak for more than twenty minutes, they stood in shock at the events that had transpired. Kari stared at the crest in her hand for a moment longer before turning to the group.  
  
" We'll rest here for the night," her eyes grew hard and her hands became fists, " then we will pay my 'dear brother' a visit." _______________________________________________________________________  
  
A/N: Yeah I know I made up the thing about the tail ring but I never understood why it had to be taken from Gatomon in the first place, but for this fic that is how it going to stay. As to the lack of compassion shown by the children, Kari and TK both had their fist digimon kill at the age of eight, that added with the years spent in stewing in their own hatred has made them a bit vicious. Ken and Davis were enforcers, they have had to kill rebelling digidestined before so they are as used to it as one can get. Other than that please read and review please.  
  
Next Time: Finally Tai must face those he left to die, how will this meeting end, do Kari and the others have a chance of beating the holder of courage? New developments come as Tai releases an ancient power. What will become off our heroes? 


	5. Confronting Tai: Am I my brother's execu...

Disclaimer: Non of the characters from Digimon or Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver are mine and I do not claim that they are I am merely borrowing them for the sake of the story and will return them if they want them. _________________________________________________________ The party moved quickly and silently as they walked toward the Citadel, they had been transported to File Island by a pod of Dolphmon who wished for peace in the land. The champions weren't strong enough to take on the Digidestined alone but they were glad to offer assistance to those who could. Tai's fortress was carved out of Infinity Mountain and was both the physical and symbolically center of his empire. The group hadn't stopped to rest since landing on the island because they were cautious of the area. When they did stop for rest they spoke quietly and kept their eyes on the surrounding area.  
  
" Should we be doing this so soon?" Ken asked of the others, his voice showing concern rather than fear. " We've only managed to beat one of the other chosen and Tai is the strongest, shouldn't we try to get stronger before rushing into this?"  
  
" We don't need to kill Wargreymon we simply need to distract him, TK and I can deal with my brother." Kari said her voice full of loathing. " Even if we cannot beat him we must confront him, I will make sure he knows the extent of his crimes before he dies for them." The girl closed her eyes for a moment before continuing. " The power of Ken and Mimi's crests should allow us entry into the fortress, I doubt there are any truly strong digimon inside, Tai is far too confident for that."  
  
" You're right," Davis interjected, " the strongest guard would be a Tyranomon or two nothing major. But there is still the issue of Wargreymon and his Dramon Destroyers he'll go through Paildramon in second with those. Plus there are the other enforcers to worry about, without Gatomon's full strength we are at a real disadvantage. " Kari shook her head at this statement.  
  
" The longer we wait the more we risk Tai discovering our presence, we must act now. " Grudgingly Davis agreed, he just hoped that he wasn't agreeing to his own demise.  
  
" Tai holds the key to entering the other fortresses, we have to face him first anyway, I just wish we were a little bit stronger." The redhead stood up and continued toward Tai's citadel without another word, as the group followed him they all felt doubts creep up their spines. Tai was very strong and kept a close watch on his world, he would know they were coming.  
  
They met with no real opposition on the way, Tai had no real need of guards, and they made good progress reaching the palace before the day had ended. At the gate Ken Kari placed their hands onto identical panels on either side of the gate, the panels glowed with the symbols of Kindness and Sincerity and the gate slowly swung open it's hinges groaning with the effort. Most of the digidestined who still came to the center had digimon that could fly or swim so the ground entrance was rarely used.  
  
As they walked inside they were confronted by a pair of Vilemon which were quickly dispatched by Angemon, and they moved at a fast pace through the halls and stairways of the mighty fortress quickly reaching the throne room. The halls were decorated with murals of the former heroes' exploits; tapestries and rugs added color to the marble walls. The stone door to Tai's chamber was forced open by Angemon Stingmon and XV-mon as the group walked into their former leader's presence.  
  
Tai was much different, he now wore a gilded breastplate and a brilliant red sash adorned with the crest of courage. He had skintight black pants and golden greaves (armor for the feet and calves) there were golden gauntlets on his arms and his body was much more muscled than it had once been. He sat on a massive stone throne wrapped around a massive pillar engraved with the crest of courage, six other pillars surrounded that one in a semicircle one for every crest except Hope and Light. Agumon sat beside the throne looking reserved and sad at the same time, Tai stood as the group entered.  
  
" Tai you bastard!" Kari shouted as she strode ahead if the group. " You will pay for the atrocities you have committed, I swear I shall rip your soul from its fragile moors and cast it into oblivion." Her eyes burned as she approached her elder sibling who didn't seem upset by the turn of events.  
  
" Well death certainly hasn't improved your manners Kari, limbo hasn't been very kind to you has it?" Tai's voice bordered on lazy as he appraised the younger child.  
  
" Whatever changes I have undergone are your doing Tai," she said his name like a curse. " And now you shall pay for all your mistakes, all your failings." Her eyes narrowed, " all the good we did in this world and you undid it all for the sake of power." Tai rolled his eyes.  
  
" Silly girl, you never did understand what our place was; we were pawns in a game we didn't deserve to be a part of. Beings we never met played with our very lives and treated us as expendable tools, I decided we deserved better than that. You just couldn't see it."  
  
Tai snapped his fingers and two people entered the room. One was a girl in a tight red jumpsuit she had an open lavender vest and lavender boots that matched her hair. Her brown eyes appraised the group with a cold tenacity. The other figure was dressed similarly except in black and brown his bright green eyes harbored a hsharp calculating mind. A red and white hawk accompanied the girl with a belt around its head; a small yellow creature partnered the boy with a shiny yellow shell and a scaly body.  
  
" Well Davis you never did know when to stay dead," The girl said coldly as she saw Kari and TK she smirked a bit. " I don't think we've met, I am Yolie, and this is my partner Hawkmon, that boy over there, " she pointed to the small brunette, " is Cody and his partner Armadillomon, we are what's left of the enforcers." She then proceeded to pull out her D-3; " I was quite upset when I wasn't allowed to kill you myself Davis, I'll be glad to do so now." Her smirk became a furious glower as Davis laughed at her.  
  
" You? As if you could beat me even on your best day, if I wasn't the strongest I wouldn't have been chosen as the leader." Davis laughed as XV- mon stepped forward, " we've played this game before Yolie and I won already. Are you sure you want to play again?" As his digimon stepped forward Davis and Ken both froze as the saw Tai hold something up. " No not that." Davis took a step back as he stared at the golden box shaped Digi- egg, the Digi-egg of Miracles.  
  
" What the hell is that thing?" TK asked as he saw his comrades shy away from it, it was Ken who answered his question.  
  
" That is the golden digi-egg of Miracles, Tai found it soon after we were called, it's older than the other eggs and far more powerful. It grants the user a golden armor form that has the strength of an ultimate, it's one of the main reasons that the enforcers are so feared; if Tai calls it's power in anger, you're as good as dead." TK and Kari looked worried as Tai raised the egg into the air.  
  
" Now let's make sure you all stay dead this time. GOLDEN ARMOR ENERGIZE!"  
  
"Armadillomon golden armor digivolve to.Elephantmon!"  
  
" Hawkmon golden armor digivolve to.Peacockmon!" Both digimon had undergone a drastic change. Armadillomon had become a white elephant with blue armor and large turbines for ears. Hawkmon had become a large blue metal-plated bird with transparent wings that shone with the colors of the rainbow. The two armor evolutions were capable of flight and were hovering just in front of their children.  
  
" Well what do you think?" Davis asked the rest of the group, " Should we make this four on two or three on two?" If he and Ken DNA digivolved it would leave Angemon on his own due to Gatomon's weakened state, but if they were all champions and the cat had her ring back they still might not be strong enough. Davis' choice was made for him as Yolie went on the offensive, XV-mon struggled to block as Kari gave Gatomon her tail ring and sent the champion into battle. Ken decided to help TK against the miniature elephant digimon.  
  
Gatomon was attempting to shred the blue bird wings as EV-mon used his V- laser to keep the armor digimon near to the ground. Peacockmon was evading Gatomon's attempts and shrugging off XV-mon's attacks as if they merely annoyances.  
  
Elephantmon took a direct hit from Angemon's angel rod attack and was knocked directly into Stingmon's spiking finish. The massive digimon steadied himself and charged into Angemon sending him crashing into a wall, Stingmon got a hit in while the Armor was distracted allowing Angemon time to recover. The two started circling their opponent darting in at different times to gain hits on the slower digimon.  
  
Peacockmon was beginning to tire as Gatomon got a hit in. An XV-punch to the back pushed him into Gatomon's lightning claw, which brought him angrily to his knees.  
  
" Not bad," Yolie said clapping softly, " but still not nearly good enough. Thank you for wearing yourselves out it will make this much easier. All right you two, end it. " Both of the armor digimon responded by powering up their attacks.  
  
" Tusk Missile!" Elephantmon's tusks flew from his face and struck both of the unprepared champions he had been fighting detonating on contact.  
  
"Rainbow Flapping!" Streams of multicolored flight flew from Peacockmon's wings and knocked Gatomon into XV-mon before throwing both of them into a wall with a large explosion of dust and debris.  
  
As the dust settled four digimon were revealed Tokomon, Minomon, Salamon, and Chibimon. The fight was over and the enforcers had won, the other children ran to their digimon and cradled them as they faced their enemies.  
  
" Oh how far we have fallen Davis," Yolie said with a sneer, " To think you were once thought to be the strongest of us all." She gestured to the digimon and the large armors prepared to finish the fight charging up their attacks once more.  
  
" Tusk Missile!"  
  
"Rainbow Flapping!"  
  
Davis took a place in front of the others as the attacked surged forward, planning to die bravely and quickly as he took one last attempt at saving his still living companions. The attacks converged on the boy and a blinding flash occurred, the light shut out all other senses and it was more than a half a minute before the children could hear the screams.  
  
As Kari opened her eyes she gasped, Davis was unharmed, both of the other digimon were gone, and their partners lay burnt and scarred on the ground. Near Tai there seemed to be shards something made of gold, 'the egg of miracles?' Kari thought as she and the others wet to check on Davis.  
  
" Are you okay?" Kari asked Davis simply nodded. His body was trembling slightly and he seemed to be in shock.  
  
" So, the 'Golden Armor' has fallen and the plot thickens. Not bad children but you'll have to do much better than that to take me on." Without another word Tai and Agumon vanished leaving the group alone in the throne room. TK checked the bodies of the last two enforcers and saw they were dead. Both had been wearing D-Terminals as well and these devices now ejected the Digi-eggs they once held. The four items flew to the children of Hope and Light, Yolie's went to Kari and Cody's went to TK. The two children glowed red and tan for a moment before the light faded, and as the faced the others they saw that Davis had been glowing gold.  
  
" Okay what the hell was all of that about?" Davis asked as he checked to make sure his body parts were still intact. The glow faded but he felt little difference in his body.  
  
'The golden armor could not destroy you, so it has joined you' Dagomon's voice filled the chamber without a visible source  
  
" Who is that?" TK shouted to the room.  
  
'A friend, that is all you need to know child of hope. You should be glad, your absorption of the armors has restored you ability to digivolve somewhat'  
  
" What does 'somewhat' mean?" Kari asked warily, she didn't trust this voice at all and she didn't like the idea of it 'helping' them.  
  
' Both you and TK can combine the powers of your champions with those of the former enforcers to create an ultimate level digimon, in other words you can DNA digivolve alone'  
  
" Well what do we do now?" Ken asked, he turned to the children of Hope and Light, " Do you two know where the next member of the old Digidestined team is?"  
  
' Izzy's fortress lies in the city that once belonged to Andromon, his network there holds the locations of the other members. The powers of the Digi-eggs should allow you entry. Go there and seek him out.' Dagomon answered Ken's question before his presence disappeared completely. The groups discussed the issue for a little while longer before leaving the fortress to seek out the Digidestined of Knowledge.  
  
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Dagomon watched as the group made their way toward the next enemy; his face went through a transformation that might have been called a smile on another creature. On the aquatic lord of the Dark Ocean the attempt at a smile only made him more frightening to behold as it twisted his face into a more compact mass of tentacles and flesh. He was staring at a large disk that was inscribed with several glowing symbols; the crests of the original Digidestined were on it along with several others. He watched with glee as the two more of the crests dimmed and four others grew brighter. The giant beast chuckled to himself as his plans unfolded.  
  
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A/N: Sorry it took so long to update but I've been busy with school and such. If anyone cares to review I'll keep on adding to this story. I think I might have figured out how to control the formatting on FF.net. R&R so I can know what you think. Also I have no idea how many of the digidestined will make it through this alive, maybe some maybe all maybe none we'll all be surprised together. 


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